The shock and the shame broke like a tsunami across the globe: A second wave of images depicting Disney's beloved 'tween hero Hannah Montana as a (potentially) sexual being is upon us: It's a Vanity Fair pic in which a clothed Miley Cyrus seems to be topless. It's an illusion: Celeb photog Annie Leibovitz snapped Miley from the side, holding a sheet in front of her with her back uncovered.

Miley has apologized for the pic, which comes a week after other racy pics of the 15-year-old hit the Net.

"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic,' " she said. "Now, seeing the photographs . . . I feel so embarrassed. . . . I have let myself down."

To the Christian Coalition, Miley has let down every child who has ever lived and she must be reprimanded by Disney. But Disney lashes out at VF, saying it "deliberately manipulate[d]" young Miley. Leibovitz has no regrets. "The photograph is a simple, classic portrait . . . and I think it is very beautiful," she said.Giant Barbies crush Tehran underfoot

Who is the greatest, scariest, most destructive enemy the Islamic Republic of Iran has ever had?

It's not Israel. Or America. Or Iraq.

It's Barbie.

Continuing his nation's decadelong campaign against the anatomically neutered dumb-blond doll, the top Iranian legal mind, Prosecutor General Ghorban Ali Dori Najafabadi, yesterday issued a dire warning about the culturally "destructive" consequences of importing Barbie dolls and other toys from the West.

"The irregular importation of such toys, which unfortunately arrive through unofficial sources and smuggling, is destructive culturally and a social danger," the learned jurist said in an official letter to Iranian veep Parviz Davoudi.

"The displays of personalities such as Barbie, Batman, Spider-Man and Harry Potter . . . as well as . . . unsanctioned computer games and movies are all warning bells to the officials in the cultural arena," his letter said.

In '02, Iran launched a short-lived, unsuccessful campaign to confiscate Barbies.

Brit's back on stupid box

Neil Patrick Harris must be over the moon: Singer, fledgling thesp, and destroyer of civilizations Britney Spears is reprising her role as Abby on How I Met Your Mother for the May 12 episode.

The episode will have Brit and Harris' characters act all hot 'n' heavy in front of Josh Radnor's character, Ted. Much hilarity (producers earnestly hope) will ensue.

Arrest in death of Cheri Oteri's dad

Country music songwriter Richard William Fagan, 61, of Nashville, has been charged with homicide in the stabbing death Saturday of Gaetano Thomas Oteri, the 69-year-old father of Saturday Night Live alum Cheri Oteri, police announced yesterday. No info yet on why Fagan would have wanted to kill Oteri, who was his roommate.

Coen brothers film news

Coolest cats in film, the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, will open this year's Venice Film Festival on Aug. 27 with the world premiere of the dark spy comedy Burn After Reading, starring George Clooney, John Malkovich, Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand and Tilda Swinton. The flick is about two losers who find the memoirs of an ousted CIA official.

Happy ending to tenor troubles

When staging grand, singer-dominated events in the past, the Philadelphia Orchestra has been plagued with vocal illness. The latest close call is the forthcoming Mahler Symphony No. 8. Tenor Vinson Cole canceled over the weekend, but the replacement (remarkably) is Anthony Dean Griffey, who only weeks ago enjoyed the biggest triumph of his considerable career singing the title role in Peter Grimes in a new production at the Metropolitan Opera. The Wednesday-through-Saturday performances won't be his Kimmel Center debut; the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society presented him in recital at the Perelman Theater in seasons past.

Must download Coldplay. Now.

It has to be Gwyneth Paltrow's influence: Any and all citizens of the world are welcome to download free copies of a new single, "Violet Hill," by Coldplay, the band that numbers among its members Gwyn's hubby, Chris Martin. Downloaders can click onto www.coldplay.com/song.html today, starting at 8 a.m. And that's a full week before the single is due for release! The song is from the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, which is due out June 17.

There's more: Coldplay says it will play two free concerts this summer, at London's Brixton Academy on June 16, and New York's Madison Square Garden on June 23.

Angela Bassett wanted in the ER

Incomparable PowerWoman Angela Bassett is joining ER as a full cast member for the NBC show's 15th and last season, the Hollywood Reporter says. The actress will play a tough doctor with a troubled past who has returned to America after spending some time aiding tsunami relief efforts in Indonesia.

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